THE ‘BULLDOZER’ – THIS IS WHAT I EARN

Tanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli, nicknamed the ‘bulldozer’, has publicly declared his salary live on television. Magufuli said he earns nine million Tanzanian shillings per month, that’s about 415,000 Kenya shillings, $4,000, or £3,000.

Many people in Kenya would be happy to earn a monthly salary of Sh415,000 but to put it in perspective, President Magufuli is being paid about a quarter of the salary paid to his predecessor Jakaya Kikwete.

While addressing the the Association of Local Authorities, President Magufuli also announced further moves to tackle corruption in Tanzania’s civil service and government machinery. Since coming to power in 2015 ‘Bulldozer’ Magufuli has sacked thousands of civil servants.

“Some board members of the public organisations used to travel all the way to Dubai to hold their meetings there just so that they could pay themselves a hefty amount of per diems. They certainly don’t like what my government is doing now”, President Magufuli declared.

Magufuli’s battle against corruption has earned praise both locally and internationally but human rights groups, some in the media and (perhaps inevitably) opposition politicians have raised concern at his authoritarian style. The Tanzanian President’s transparency in declaring his monthly salary however, will surely be received positively in the East Africa region.